€ 32.6 bn global technology company, ZF has picked up a small yet significant 5% stake in the software company Apex.AI, with an aim to strengthen its automotive software business. ZF will also develop software solutions based on the Apex.OS meta-operating system, the company has said.
The company is looking to offer its customers an additional ZF Middleware option based on the Apex.OS. “This solution is certified to the highest standards of functional safety for passenger cars and commercial vehicles,” said Nico Hartmann, Head of the ZF Global Software Center. Hartmann added this results in offering customers an alternative to Autosar Adaptive.
ZF Middleware is an open software platform that acts as a ‘mediator’ between a vehicle computer’s operating system and its software applications. Key functions of the middleware are the abstraction of the computer hardware from software applications and the communication between these applications, said ZF.
Actual software functions, such as autonomous driving functions, can then in turn be built on top of this middleware.
It must be noted that in the electric and electronic architectures of the next generation vehicles, high-performance computers and software will control all important functions and connect them with both the vehicle systems and the outside world.
Highest Functional Safety Standard
The meta-operating system, Apex.OS, is derived from the Robot Operation System (ROS), originally developed for robotics applications. Apex.AI has further developed this operating system for the automotive sector and gained ASIL D certification according to ISO 26262 functional safety standard for vehicles.
As a result, this core software for high-performance automotive computers, including the associated software development kits, is readily available, thereby offering car manufacturers the option of deploying scarce human resources more in other areas that offer significant differentiation for the end customer, said ZF in a release.
Meanwhile, the company further stated that Apex.OS is written in new standards of the C++ programming language, which enables a high reusability of individual building blocks. This approach is an alternative communication framework to the Adaptive Autosar standards widely used in the automotive industry.
ZF can supply its customers with both approaches, depending on which variant the respective vehicle manufacturer prefers. Apex.OS can be used in all types of vehicles, including passenger cars, robotaxis, shuttles and commercial vehicles, and independent of their level of automation.
Jan Becker, CEO and Co-founder, Apex.AI said, “We are proud that ZF, as one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world, will also offer software solutions based on Apex.OS. We hope that this core software, which is a non-differentiating software for vehicle users, will become a standard in the automotive industry.”